Why I Oughta...

Planted in Fall of 2022 , we've lost the small caliper Exclamation London Planetree that I had planted in the parkway.  The tree likely suffered from drought and it started to drop leaves in the Summer.  I thought it might make it back this Spring, but alas...there's no green anywhere under the bark on this tree. Below is the tree after being pulled out: This is the first entry into the [trees planted] log here on the garden diary. 2025 marks my ninth tree-planting season.   Zero trees planted (so far) in 2025.  And one tree 'lost' so far this year.  -1 for the year.   Overall, I've planted 103 trees on our property.  That's a wild number to me.   With this loss, we have 69 of 103 alive.  66.99% success rate. It is early this year, so these numbers (below) are skewed:  103 trees planted/9 growing seasons  = 11.44 trees on average planted each season 69 trees alive/9 growing seasons  = 7.66 trees on average surviv...

I seem to have failed to post photos and details of the dormant pruning that I did earlier this year on the pair of SugarTyme Crabapple trees that are trained into horizontal cordon espalier on the south side of our house.  The last time I posted about these was in September 2024 when the trees were going ham with new growth and tons of foliage .  At that time, I talked about the need to prune back both of these this Winter and noted how the tree on the right was growing faster/stronger/bigger than the one on the right. I pruned both of them while the trees were dormant, but I seem to have only take a photo when I had pruned back *just* the tree on the left and before I started with the one on the right.  That photo is below: I ended up pruning both back, of course.  And, they're now breaking bud with early foliage.  Below is a photo from this week (mid-April) showing the first sets of leaves emerging on both trees.   The photo above shows a few detail...

The multi-trunk Saucer Magnolia tree is getting ready to put on its annual Spring flower show.  And, after the harsh (at times) Winter, we're seeing a great sign:  pink flower buds have emerged from their fuzzy shells and are putting on size ahead of their full bloom. Below is a photo of one of the pink flower buds on the Saucer Magnolia tree tips.   This is three-and-a-half weeks later than the same pink buds emerged in 2024 - just over a year ago .   That was earlier than normal.  And this year - mid-April - is more in line with historical timing for this flowering tree.   2025 - Flower buds emerged in mid-April.   2024 - Flowers emerged in mid-March.  Peaked first week of April. 2023 - Mid-April peak-Magnolia bloom 2022 - Late-April 2022: Peak-Magnolia at end of month 2021 - Mid-April 2021 : In bloom by mid-month (April). 2020 - Early April 2020 : Blooms began the first week of April. 2019 - The tree did NOT bloom at all. 2...

Here we go:  twenty-five items on my 'to-do list' for 2025.  Just like the past few years, this list includes twenty-five garden ideas, projects, plans and priorities.  Here's 2024's to-do list .  And scorecard (18 out of 25 complete ).  Here's 2023 to-do list .  And scorecard (22 of 25 complete ). Here's 2022's to-do list .  And scorecard (20 of 25 complete).   Last year, the seven that I didn't complete include leaf mulch, working the lawn, parkway planting, building an orangerie box, improving the southside entrance landing, being a weeder and paying attention to my tree nursery.   A few of those will persist and show up in the 25 below. 1. Gravel Path Improvement. This was marked as 'Priority Project #1' this year . And, I've already completed about 60% of the renovation . Once I finalize the pizza oven project, I'll use the remaining nonwoven fabric to finish the gravel path. 2. Make the Pizza Oven operational. This was marke...

We started with one Disneyland Rose back in the Fall of 2017 and grew the collection to three by 2022.  In Spring 2023, I was gifted three more bare root Disneyland Roses for my birthday and I planted them in the front porch bed under the Triumph Elm tree .  All three of those 'new' roses didn't come back in 2024 - and that's where I planted a few Dahlia tubers.   The three Disneyland Roses planted in the sideyard struggled last year.  Between pests and drought, they had limited production during the 2024 growing season .  I failed to water them enough during the early part of the season, but baby'd them later in the year.   This year, for Christmas, I was gifted two MORE Disneyland roses.  They, too, are bare root.  They arrived via UPS in a box and were well-packed.  The roots were still covered in wet paper, so they didn't dry-out during the travel.  Below is a photo showing the packing of the two Disneyland Roses from Jack...

Back in the Summer of 2021, I bought and planted a Japanese White Pine that included the name "Nana" on the tag - but otherwise the cultivar was not-listed.  This small conifer tree was hanging out at the big box parking lot nursery for months and when it dropped in price, I grabbed it.  By Summer 2022, the tree was gone.  Browned out and dead .   What caused the death? I'm not sure. Drought, likely.  But, also...could it have been 'over watered'?  Not sure, but who knows.   What about hardiness? Are they hardy down to our Zone 6a/5b borderline? I'm not sure, either. Did I plant it incorrectly? Perhaps. These Home Depot trees are typically ball and burlap and are air-pruned/rooted - I think. They usually have a large, main trunk that terminates into a cut-end that has been rooted with some small root growth. In the past, I've cut these balls open - and when I did that - I've almost always LOST those trees. More recently, I've left t...

Our three-bin compost bin setup includes a finishing bin (on the right), a mixed bin (in the middle) and a holding/storage bin (on the left).  You can see those three in the photo below - along with the 'FEED ME' Compost bin sign hanging on the holding bin on the left.  Also note, on the right - finishing bin - the new cedar planks that I added last Fall to the bottom to help hold in the finished material: Last Fall, I filled the two non-finishing bins with gathered leaves and other garden waste .  Over the Winter, I've been adding our kitchen scraps to the holding bin .  Also, Nat got a new coffee machine that produces A TON of grounds, so the bin is filling up with spent grounds.  And, most recently, this early Spring, I've been putting our garden waste like turf, seed heads, etc - other than the 'chop and drop' material - in the holding bin.  You can see that piled on top of the leaves.   I'll plan on turning these bins later this year - some...